The Car Accident
1066 Words
Ryan Carter was fuming. That handkerchief had been a birthday gift from Olivia—a gift she’d embroidered herself. No amount of money could buy something like that.
“I saw it lying next to me. Wasn’t it for me to use?” Emma Carter looked up at Ryan with big, watery eyes.
Her eyes, still rimmed red from crying, shone like two perfect pieces of crystal.
Ryan’s anger faltered for a moment as he stared into them.
He had to admit—Emma really was beautiful.
She had the unmistakable Carter family look.
The Carters were all blessed with good looks—handsome men, stunning women.
Olivia was pretty, yes, but she didn’t quite measure up to the Carter family’s natural elegance.
Compared to Emma? There was no contest.
Even in a family packed with beautiful faces, Emma’s features stood out—delicate, ethereal, like a little fairy who’d fallen to earth, carrying an air of untouched innocence.
But Ryan knew it was all an act. A girl raised in poverty couldn’t possibly be so pure.
No doubt, the moment she found out she was the Carters’ biological daughter, she’d started scheming about how to get her hands on the family fortune.
His anger flared again.
“This handkerchief was Olivia’s birthday gift to me. When did I ever say you could use it? And you blew your nose in it—do you have any idea how disgusting that is?” He glared at her with open disgust.
“I’m sorry, Ryan. I thought it was for me. I didn’t know it was so important to you. I’ll wash it and give it back,” Emma said softly, tucking the handkerchief away like a guilty child, already planning to clean it before returning it.
[Host, that’s exactly right! Apologize sweetly, keep your head down, and win their favor! As long as you max out the Carter family’s goodwill, you can rewrite your fate as a side character!]
The “Villainess Redemption System” had no idea what had gone wrong. By this point in the original story, Emma should have been a pitiful nobody. Instead, she’d been spoiled rotten in her little village.
Not only did she ignore the system’s advice, she treated it like some shady scammer.
Luckily, the Carter family from the capital had still come to pick her up. Otherwise, the system wouldn’t have been able to explain itself.
Whatever went wrong in that village, at least the capital storyline should be on track.
Now it could guide Emma toward winning the Carters’ goodwill—and escaping her tragic fate.
Emma, of course, had no idea what the system was babbling about. She just looked nervously at Ryan, waiting for his answer.
“Wash it and give it back? You think I’d want it after you blew your nose in it?!” Ryan’s voice was sharp. “You’re already stirring up trouble before we even get home. Let me warn you—drop your little schemes.
“Blood ties or not, don’t think you can compete with Olivia. She may not share our blood, but she’s my only sister. You will never take her place. Got it?”
His words were brutal, leaving her no dignity at all.
In the front seat, Mr. Walsh, the butler, and the driver exchanged cautious glances but stayed silent.
They knew better than to meddle in Carter family business.
Still… the poor girl. The real daughter, returning home after years away, only to be slapped down by her brother before she even set foot in the house.
Once she did… things wouldn’t get any easier.
They knew all too well what the Carters were like.
Honestly, Emma might have been better off staying in the village. Going back to the Carter estate might be like stepping into a wolf’s den.
Not that they’d ever say such things out loud. With the salary the Carters paid, it wasn’t worth risking their jobs over a little sympathy.
Emma’s tears started falling faster at Ryan’s cutting words.
“Wuu…”
The system’s story was coming true—her third brother didn’t like her at all, only the fake daughter. She was so pitiful…
The more she thought about it, the harder she cried.
“You’re faki—”
Ryan didn’t get to finish. The car suddenly skidded and slammed straight into a roadside planter.
BANG!
“Somebody help! There’s been an accident!”
“Check if the people in the car are okay!”
“I’m calling 911!”
Bystanders rushed over—some to help, others to call for an ambulance.
Inside, Mr. Walsh turned sharply to the driver. “What were you thinking, James?! Check on Young Master Ryan and Miss Emma!”
They both whipped around to the back seat.
Strangely enough, despite the impact, the two men in the front were perfectly fine.
When they looked, Emma was sitting there wide-eyed and stunned, tears still clinging to her lashes.
Next to her, Ryan was clutching his neck, howling.
“My neck! My neck!”
“Take me to the hospital! Now!”
The pain was sharp enough to bring real tears to his eyes.
How was it possible that out of four people in the car, he was the only one injured?
Was the universe targeting him specifically?!
With the help of the bystanders, Ryan was taken to the hospital.
“Darling, I just got a call from Mr. Walsh—they were in a car accident on the way back. Ryan’s been taken to the local hospital. He won’t be home tonight.”
Richard Carter, the head of the family, was both anxious and worried as he relayed the news.
Fortunately, Walsh said Ryan’s injury wasn’t serious—just his neck.
As for Emma, she’d somehow come out completely unscathed.
“What?! What was the driver doing? How do you even get into an accident like that?” Mrs. Carter, Lillian, was quick to snap.
“Calm down, dear. Ryan’s fine—just a minor injury. Emma, Walsh, and the driver are all unharmed.”
When it came to Emma, Richard still felt a strange distance.
He and Lillian might have had some expectations for the daughter they’d lost, but after eighteen years of raising Olivia, their feelings were complicated.
So complicated, they weren’t even sure how they were supposed to treat her.
- Writer
